Model:Alpine3D

Contact

Name	Mathias Bavay
Type of contact	Technical contact
Institute / Organization	WSL/SLF
Postal address 1	Flüelastrasse 13
Postal address 2
Town / City	Davos Dorf
Postal code	7260
State	NO STATE
Country	Switzerland
Email address	bavay@slf.ch
Phone	0814170265
Fax

Name	Michael Lehning
Type of contact	Model developer
Institute / Organization
Postal address 1
Postal address 2
Town / City
Postal code
State
Country
Email address
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Alpine3D

Metadata

Summary Also known as Model type Modular Model part of larger framework Note on status model Date note status model Technical specs Supported platforms Unix, Linux Other platform Programming language Fortran77, C, C++ Other program language Code optimized Multiple processors implemented Nr of distributed processors Nr of shared processors Start year development 1997 Does model development still take place? Yes If above answer is no, provide end year model development Code development status When did you indicate the 'code development status'? Model availability As code, As executable"As executable" is not in the list (As code, As teaching tool) of allowed values for the "Model availability" property. Source code availability (Or provide future intension) Through owner"Through owner" is not in the list (Through web repository, Through CSDMS repository) of allowed values for the "Source code availability" property. Source web address Source csdms web address Program license type GPL v3 Program license type other Memory requirements several Gbits (depends on the surface that is simulated) Typical run time hours to days In/Output Describe input parameters The area to be simulated has to be described (DEM, landuse). The meteorological input data (air temperature, relative humidity, precipitations...) have to be described (units, interpolations types). Some parameters about the model itself must be given (precision of the radiation ray tracing algorithms, characteristic lengths, parameters for a bucket model of runoff...) Input format ASCII Other input format Describe output parameters for every grid cell: air and surface temperature, relative humidity, short and long wave radiation, snow height, snow water content, albedo Global outputs: catchment discharge, surface and subsurface flow At user defined locations: full snow profiles (temperature profile, grain types, grain sizes, density, water content, liquid water content) Output format ASCII Other output format Pre-processing software needed? No Describe pre-processing software Post-processing software needed? No Describe post-processing software Visualization software needed? Yes If above answer is yes Other visualization software any software able to visualize data in a 2D grid Process Describe processes represented by the model Alpine3D is a model for high resolution simulation of alpine surface processes, in particular snow processes. The model can be driven by measurements from automatic weather stations or by meteoro-logical model outputs. The core three-dimensional Alpine3D modules consist of a radiation balance model (which uses a view factor approach and includes shortwave scattering and longwave emission from terrain and tall vegetation) and a drifting snow model solving a diffusion equation for suspended snow and a saltation transport equation. The processes in the atmosphere are thus treated in three dimensions and coupled to a distributed one dimensional model of vegetation, snow and soil model (Snowpack) using the assumption that lateral exchange is small in these media. The model is completed by a conceptual runoff module. Describe key physical parameters and equations Snow settling, temperature diffusion, snow saltation and suspension, snow metamorphism, terrain radiation. Describe length scale and resolution constraints The model has been used with cells from 5 meters up to kilometers scale. Describe time scale and resolution constraints The time scale constraints usually comes from the input meteorological data: each time step must be provided with a set of input data. Describe any numerical limitations and issues Overall, the model is very computationally intensive. It is usually ran on a grid or a cluster. Testing Describe available calibration data sets -- Upload calibration data sets if available: Describe available test data sets -- Upload test data sets if available: Describe ideal data for testing -- Other Do you have current or future plans for collaborating with other researchers? The underlying 1D model (SNOWPACK) is already being used by various collaborating researchers/institutions. Is there a manual available? Yes Upload manual if available: Model website if any Model forum / discussion board Comments Alpine3D Introduction History Papers Alpine3D Questionnaire Contact Information Model: Alpine3D Contact person: Mathias Bavay (Technical contact) Institute: WSL/SLF City: Davos Dorf Country: Switzerland Email: bavay@slf.ch 2nd person involved: Michael Lehning (Model developer) 3rd person involved: -- Model Description Model type: Modular model for the terrestrial. Description: Alpine3D is a model for high resolution simulation of alpine surface processes, in particular snow processes. The model can be driven by measurements from automatic weather stations or by meteoro-logical model outputs. The core three-dimensional Alpine3D modules consist of a radiation balance model (which uses a view factor approach and includes shortwave scattering and longwave emission from terrain and tall vegetation) and a drifting snow model solving a diffusion equation for suspended snow and a saltation transport equation. The processes in the atmosphere are thus treated in three dimensions and coupled to a distributed one dimensional model of vegetation, snow and soil model (Snowpack) using the assumption that lateral exchange is small in these media. The model is completed by a conceptual runoff module. The model modules can be run in a parallel mode, using the POP-C++ toolkit, using a grid infrastructure to allow computationally demanding tasks. Alpine3D is a valuable tool to investigate surface dynamics in mountains and is currently used to investigate snow cover dynamics for avalanche warning and permafrost development and vegetation changes under climate change scenarios. It could also be used to create accurate soil moisture assessments for meteorological and flood forecasting. Technical information Supported platforms: UNIX, Linux Programming language: Fortran77, C, C++ Model development started at: 1997 and development still takes place. To what degree will the model become available: Source code & executable will be available Current license type: GPLv3 Memory requirements: several Gbits (depends on the surface that is simulated) Typical run time: hours to days Input / Output description Input parameters: The area to be simulated has to be described (DEM, landuse). The meteorological input data (air temperature, relative humidity, precipitations...) have to be described (units, interpolations types). Some parameters about the model itself must be given (precision of the radiation ray tracing algorithms, characteristic lengths, parameters for a bucket model of runoff...) Input format: ASCII Output parameters: for every grid cell: air and surface temperature, relative humidity, short and long wave radiation, snow height, snow water content, albedo Global outputs: catchment discharge, surface and subsurface flow At user defined locations: full snow profiles (temperature profile, grain types, grain sizes, density, water content, liquid water content) Output format: ASCII Post-processing software (if needed): No Visualization software (if needed): Yes, any software able to visualize data in a 2D grid Process description Processes represented by model: Alpine3D is a model for high resolution simulation of alpine surface processes, in particular snow processes. The model can be driven by measurements from automatic weather stations or by meteoro-logical model outputs. The core three-dimensional Alpine3D modules consist of a radiation balance model (which uses a view factor approach and includes shortwave scattering and longwave emission from terrain and tall vegetation) and a drifting snow model solving a diffusion equation for suspended snow and a saltation transport equation. The processes in the atmosphere are thus treated in three dimensions and coupled to a distributed one dimensional model of vegetation, snow and soil model (Snowpack) using the assumption that lateral exchange is small in these media. The model is completed by a conceptual runoff module. Key physical parameters & equations: Snow settling, temperature diffusion, snow saltation and suspension, snow metamorphism, terrain radiation. Length scale & resolution constraints: The model has been used with cells from 5 meters up to kilometers scale. Time scale & resolution constraints: The time scale constraints usually comes from the input meteorological data: each time step must be provided with a set of input data. Numerical limitations and issues : Overall, the model is very computationally intensive. It is usually ran on a grid or a cluster. Testing Available calibration data sets: -- Available test data sets: -- Ideal data for testing: -- User groups Currently or plans for collaborating with: The underlying 1D model (SNOWPACK) is already being used by various collaborating researchers/institutions. Documentation Key papers of the model: "ALPINE3D: a detailed model of mountain surface processes and its application to snow hydrology", Michael Lehning, Ingo Völksch, David Gustafsson, Tuan Anh Nguyen, Manfred Stähli, Massimiliano Zappa, Hydrological Processes, Volume 20 Issue 10, Pages 2111 - 2128, 8 Jun 2006 Is there a manual available: yes Model website if any: -- Additional comments Comments: -- Issues Help Input Files Output Files Download Source